admin, Author at Christ Church

Peace of Mind

Posted on Jan 6, 2023 by admin in Devotions |

January 6, 2023

God cares about what you’re going through. God cares about your mental and emotional health. God knows that you can love Him and worship Him … and you can still hurt.

If you’re in that struggle right now, let me just say this to you …

Getting help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of wisdom.

I want to say it again. And I want you to hear it. Getting help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of wisdom. Don’t be afraid to seek help. Don’t be afraid to find a counselor to help you clarify things.

And, if you’re struggling right now, I want to help you … I want to help you … find your missing peace.

Let’s get started right now. And let’s start by building a foundation. What’s the greatest commandment? Someone once asked Jesus that. What’s the most important thing?

Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)

Interesting. How do you love God with your mind? Let’s talk about how your mind works. Let’s talk about the brain.

Your brain is actually built over time. It starts in the womb and evolves rapidly. What happens is the brain makes all these connections – connections that are called “neural pathways.”

For the first few years of your life, how many neural pathways is your brain making? Your brain is making about one million connections every second. Every second – a connection, connection, connection.

And pretty soon your brain gets more efficient and starts to think in patterns. In other words, once you think a thought, it’s easier to think that thought again. It’s like a pathway has been created in your brain so your thoughts can move in that direction.

The fact is … Your life is always moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts.
That’s good news if your thoughts are healthy. But that’s bad news if your thoughts are not healthy. So let me give you an exercise for building healthy thoughts. If you want to find your missing peace, let’s start here. Every time you have a negative thought, say these words: “I matter to God and His plan for me is good.”

What are you doing? You are overriding that negative thought. You are creating a new pathway in your brain.

• So, you think an unhealthy thought. You think: Nothing good ever happens to me. Override that: I matter to God and His plan for me is good. Something good is going to happen. This is all part of the plan.

• You think, I can’t handle all this stress … No, I matter to God and His plan for me is good. With God, I can handle anything life throws at me.

• You think, Nobody cares what I’m going through … No, that’s not true. God cares. I matter to God and His plan for me is good.

And when you focus your thoughts on God like that – instead of being focused on your problems – what’s going to happen? You will find your missing peace. Watch this! The Bible says …

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!” (Isaiah 26:3)
Perfect peace. Not occasional peace. Not circumstantial peace. Not momentary peace when you feel good in the moment. Perfect peace.

Dec '22

It’s Never Too Late

Posted on Dec 16, 2022 by admin in Devotions |

Dec '22

“It’s not too late.” That was the thought that changed our Christmas. “It’s not too late.”

Maybe that’s a thought for you this Christmas. What would it take to make this a great, great Christmas? Maybe it’s not too late. What would it take to put a smile on someone’s face? “It’s not too late.” Is there somebody you should call? Is it time to bury an old grudge? … Is it time to invite God into your life? “It’s not too late.”
Remember the story of the first Christmas? There was no room at the inn. In other words, the innkeeper missed out on the first Christmas. Picture it! Mary and Joseph show up at the door. It’s after midnight. Mary’s in her third Trimester. Joseph knocks on the door. (Knock.)

“Yes?”

The innkeeper opens up the door. He’s in his pajamas, holding a lantern. The only sounds you can hear in the inn are the sounds of snoring. He takes one look at Mary.

At that moment, don’t you know what that innkeeper’s thinking? A pregnant lady? That could trouble. Suppose she goes into labor and screams and wakes up the other guests? And the baby? Babies are noisy. This is a motel, not a maternity ward.

So, he says, “Sorry, lady. Maybe try the stable out back. Might have been able to fit you in earlier, but now … it’s too late.”

The innkeeper missed the opportunity. He missed the chance to open the door to Jesus. But it’s not too late for you.

Jesus is saying to you today: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in.” (Revelation 3:20)

Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. Maybe you feel His presence right now. Maybe you felt it during the singing of the Christmas Carols or when you walked into this beautifully decorated church. Maybe you saw it in the smile of a friend or in the eyes of a child. It’s not too late. He’s calling to you: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.”

Jesus is here now. Jesus is here for you.

He will never force His way into your life. All you have to do is open the door. It’s not too late!

Let’s crack open that door right now … with a prayer …

Dear Lord Jesus,

Was that a gentle tapping at the door? Whatever it was, I heard it. I felt it. It’s You, trying to get my attention.

I want You in my life, Lord. I do. Things just seem to go better when You’re a part of my life. So, I’m opening the door now. I’m opening my heart. It’s not too late to make this the most wonderful Christmas of my life.

Merry Christmas, Lord Jesus!

Amen.

Nov '22

Generous People Round Up

Posted on Nov 11, 2022 by admin in Devotions |

Nov '22

November 11, 2022

Generous people always “round up.”

A man went out for lunch one Sunday after church and the server was unfriendly – like, way unfriendly. But when it came time to settle up at the end, he felt something. He said, “It’s like the Holy Spirit said to me, ‘Round up! Bless her with a bigger tip than she’d normally get.” So, he did, and didn’t think anything more about it.

The next Sunday in church, he turned around and who was sitting right behind him? You guessed it! His server from last Sunday!

She said, “I knew you went to this church because you always came into the restaurant after church. I didn’t really like God, or like church, or like what I thought I knew about you. That’s why I was unfriendly to you. I knew I wasn’t good to you, but you still were good to me. So, I thought, You know, maybe somebody like me should use a church like that!

She went to church that Sunday … and that Sunday was the day her life changed … just by one small and simple act of rounding up.

That’s what generous people do. Wise old King Solomon said it this way: “All day long selfish people crave and crave, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.” (Proverbs 21:26)
We don’t hold back – we round up!

You see it over and over again in the Bible …

• The Good Samaritan is walking along, and he sees a man beaten and left for dead. He doesn’t say, “Stinks to be you, buddy.” No, he gets him a hotel room and Scripture says, “The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’” (Luke 10:35) He rounded up!

• Zacchaeus – same thing. Zacchaeus was a crook who stole from people. But one day he experienced the life-transforming love of Jesus, and he decided not just to give back, but to round up! He said, “If I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount!” (Luke 19:8) That’s way rounding up!

• And Jesus taught this principle: “If someone demands your shirt, give him your really cool jacket, too. If someone says, go one mile, round up and go two miles!” (Matthew 5:40-41)

And, so, how about you?

• The next time you’re contemplating, Should I give a lower amount or a higher amount on a tip? – be a blessing and round up!

• If you’re going to make a meal for someone, don’t just make a meal, make an appetizer and a dessert. Round up! Come on – you’re generous! It’s who you are!

• If you’re going to give someone a gift card to go out to dinner, hey, babysit their kids too! Because generous people round up!

And so, here’s the thing: If you want to be generous when you have more, learn to be generous when you have less. You pre-decide – because generous isn’t just what we do, generous is who we are.

But I promise you, it’s never going to be accidental. Generous people – they plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity. We stand firm. We’ve already decided. We round up.

Why? Because we serve the most generous God you can ever imagine … who pre-decided to send His one and only Son that we might live the ultimate life!

Oct '22

In Your Anger

Posted on Oct 7, 2022 by admin in Devotions |

Oct '22

The Bible says in Ephesians 4:26: “In your anger, do not sin” – which implies that it’s not a sin to get angry. It’s going to happen. Getting angry is inevitable. Living angry is a choice.

I try to remind myself that there’s simply no upside in getting angry. There’s no win. There’s no victory. I’ve never in my life become more joyful … by getting ticked off at someone. My marriage has never gotten better … by getting annoyed at my wife. I’ve never gotten closer to God … by getting angry.

Let me say it again: Getting angry is inevitable. But living angry is a choice.
That’s why the Bible says you’ve got to be really, really careful when it comes to anger. Because if you hold onto that anger, what you’re actually doing is giving the devil a foothold in your life.

I used to think that “giving the devil a foothold” meant don’t let the devil get his foot in the door – like someone knocks on your door, you open it a crack to see who it is, and the person puts his foot in the opening so you can’t get rid of him.

But the actual Greek word for foothold is even more dramatic than that. It’s the word “topos.” It literally means a place or a room.

So, if you live in anger, you’re actually giving the devil a place inside your mind. It’s like you’re building him a little apartment in your brain. Isn’t that crazy? Here’s how crazy that is – He’s your enemy, your accuser, the prince of lies, and you’re letting him live rent free in your head.

And that’s why there’s a powerful part of this verse that I don’t want you to miss. It says: “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.”

In other words, don’t hang onto it. Don’t let the day come to an end while you’re still holding and harboring your anger. The day of your hurt should also be the day of your healing.

Sep '22

Seeds

Posted on Sep 9, 2022 by admin in Devotions |

Sep '22

Think about a seed …

You can have an apple seed on your desk for a lifetime, but it will never become an apple tree … until you put it in the ground. Its potential will never be released … until it’s planted.

As long as it’s sitting there on the desk, it will stay nice and comfortable, and it won’t have to stretch or deal with any adversity. But the seed’s potential will stay locked up on the inside.

If you were to ask that seed, I’m sure it would say, “I don’t want to go into the dirt. It’s dark, it’s lonely, and it uncomfortable when people walk all over you.”

The seed feels as though it’s been buried, as though it’s the end, but what the seed doesn’t know is that it’s not buried – it’s planted!

It has the life force of Almighty God on the inside. That dark place, buried in the dirt – that’s what brings out the beautiful flower, that’s what brings out the fruit, that’s what brings out the growth!

That’s why Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it will produce much fruit.” (John 12:24)

You may feel today like you’re in a dark place. None of us likes to be planted; it’s uncomfortable, it’s lonely. But in those dark places you have to remind yourself that new growth is on the way.

Even though it feels like something’s dying, something else is coming to life. You’re not buried; you’re planted. When you come out, you’re going to bear much fruit.

My challenge to you is this: Be willing to go through the process. Dare to trust God. You’re not buried; you’re planted. It’s just a matter of time before you break out and blossom … into who you were created to be.